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April 2024
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AFRAID TO FAIL4/15/2022 An organization that identified a huge gap in their operational talked to a consultant recently. They are willing to confront the pain and are willing to take steps to immediately reset their efforts. Then silence, silence, silence. What's happening behind the scenes would be telling? When managers have no strategic confidence to make decisions on the basis of information acquired and in the best intentions, paralysis-analysis occurs. They like bring too many people in the analysis of the problem, the prognosis, and the actions to be taken. They want to be told what to do. In short, they want to avoid failing at all costs. When this happens, failure-avoidance leads to very smart but all too narrow gains. What can you lose with that investment? Reputation loss, money, staff time, and opportunity costs? Think hard, are you losing all of them right now as we speak by doing the paralysis-analysis and failure-avoidance techniques. If you're too afraid, shut the doors and windows, and stay under the covers.
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THE GREAT REDESIGN4/12/2022 I just ran an article of the same title in my January e-newsletter. In a matter of five years, a dozen of executives I met at the mid-level positions in various on-purpose organizations had moved on, either had taken up their own businesses or transferred to careers they want to explore. Now that we're close to an emergence from the pandemic scenario, this shifting will be accelerated. Some call it pivot, some redesign, and some heeding that second calling. If you're like me that went from a full-time employee to self-employed, you know that this is not a hobby or just a gig (as some would call it to downplay its serious requirements). The great redesign or simply reinvention is a response to challenging economic shifts that are happening even before COVID19, the global fuel crisis, and the worldwide inflation. We are beginning to see a generational shift to the concept of work, not as drudgery but as an extension of personal and professional identity and fulfillment, with more individual choice as main driver than the need for status, wealth accumulation, or security. In tough times, the opposite happens. People are resigning in jobs they previously would hold on tight until the storm calms down and allows them to figure out their long-term goals. Highly individualized lifestyle choices, the ubiquity of technology and infrastructures and enablement created a wider menu of options available right for a global talent are immense. My friend from Nigeria has chosen to call Edmonton home despite the lure of Silicon Valley, and other innovation hubspots in the world. Leaping to another career, job, or lifestyle choice is an act of bravery in a world of ambiguity. When times are great, or when you feel like you're thriving despite and inspite of circumstances, that is the perfect time to sit still and figure out your next pivot.
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ON BECOMING DIFFERENT3/14/2022 So many people want to make a difference but very few are capable of being different from the rest. By now, people should understand that there is no Big Brother, somebody to validate their every move, approves them, and tell them they are on the right path. It's an imagination. Besides, the vast majority of the Earth's population are dreaming with their eyes wide open. Instead of living for a purpose, they live based on what's comes to them. If you're life is performative, who needs an audience? With the current Ukraine crisis, we know that this didn't happen overnight. Many years of hostility preceded this and both sides are guilty of violating the trust and blatantly eroding any civilized manner of diplomacy. The road to peace is littered with good intentions but bad consequences. Independent thinking is a breath of fresh air in an environment where conformity is more favored than an inquisitive mind. Standing up against the mob is an active protest in itself. But you need a better strategy than just a moral action. Whether you're in the Board room or in your shop or working in the on-purpose sector, becoming different is not pushing hard on certain agenda or being rough on others. It means standing for your values and principles, standing up for your organizational values, and standing up for purpose-driven impact. The consequences of doing these actions can be great but being compliant without understanding has dreadful effects too. Know what you are capable of doing. Act with integrity. That's the way to making a difference in your cubicle (or home-office). |